Tera-hertz Explorer

The Tera-hertz Explorer (TEREX)[1] mission is a planned orbiter and lander that will be carrying a terahertz sensor to the surface of Mars to measure the oxygen isotope ratios of various molecules in the Martian atmosphere.

[1] The mission is being developed by Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and the University of Tokyo Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory (ISSL).

[7] The project is based on a past proposal named FIRE (Far InfraRed Experiment), which was a sensor intended for JAXA's cancelled MELOS Mars orbiter.

[8] NICT will put into use their experience developing the SMILES (Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder) instrument on board the ISS Kibo module, and SWI (Sub-millimeter Wave Instrument) on board the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, which the institute jointly developed with ESA and DLR (German Aerospace Center).

[3] The preliminary lander's dimensions are a 50 cm cube,[6] and may have a mass of 140 kg (310 lb) including propellant.